


Panic With A Side Of Tomatoes

by april_zephyr (April_Zephyr)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Anxiety Disorder, Boys Kissing, Confusion, Dead Claudia Stilinski, Derek's an ass in the beginning, F/M, Good Peter, Hale Family Feels, M/M, Miscommunication, Panic Attacks, Peter gives good advice, Stiles Has Issues, Stiles Has Panic Attacks, Stiles has a nanny, Surprise Kissing, The Hale's love Stiles, Weight Issues, anaemia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 12:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3067136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/April_Zephyr/pseuds/april_zephyr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had approximately been seven years since Stiles had last seen Derek. It wasn’t an intentional thing, he just wasn’t entirely sure how to face the male.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Panic With A Side Of Tomatoes

**Author's Note:**

> I know I haven't written in a while. I'm trying to get back into the writing groove. This may be awful, but I winged it. I'm working on a bunch of different fanfics at the same time and I hope to post them soon.
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me and I hope that you understand that an author always has reasons for not writing as frequently.
> 
> There's an OC in this called Claire. Just ignore her, she's Stiles' nanny and I should point out that she's not in a relationship with papa Stilinski.
> 
> Let me apologise now for all the typos. I haven't proofread this work. I just really wanted to post it as soon as I could. I'll fix the typos as soon as I can.

**Chapter One**

It had approximately been seven years since Stiles had last seen Derek. It wasn’t an intentional thing, he just wasn’t entirely sure how to face the male. The dark haired male had decided to start a new life in another country and Stiles was the type of guy that thought that no place was better than home so he didn’t go with him. When Derek had suddenly come back from the other country, he had come back with a girl. This surprised Stiles, he always assumed that Derek was asexual. The man didn’t show clear indications that he was sexually attracted to any sex, he was the complete opposite of Stiles. Stiles wasn’t one to care about gender, if he found someone attractive, he would approach them. But that wasn’t the problem. As soon as he had seen the other male, a look of clear distaste was very noticeable on his face when he had caught sight of the brunette. Derek clearly hated him and he had no idea where he went wrong. Until he figured out what he did, he wasn’t going to bother his childhood friend.  
“Stiles! It’s so nice of you to come over!” Talia squealed, pressing kisses all over his face. He absolutely loved Derek’s mother and even if he wasn’t on speaking terms with the other male, that did not mean that he was going to ignore the guy’s mother or family.

“Lia! I just had to visit you.” Stiles grinned, as the shorter lady let him into her house. The house looked the same as it always did. Charles and the family did occasionally change the house decorations, but not to the point of being painstakingly obvious.

“Oh Stiles. I was beginning to think that you were avoiding us.” Talia smiled, “Charles was actually planning on dropping by your place to see if there was anything wrong.”

“You guys worry too much about me.” Stiles laughed, “My workload has increased significantly. I just love working with the kids, but sometimes it feels like there’s way too much to do.”

“You know that you can always call me or Peter over to help you.” Talia suggested, “We absolutely love the children.”

“I know. But I’m going to have to say that I’m going to be sad to be leaving them.” Stiles frowned, “… I don’t hate my father for doing this, but I love those kids.”

“Don’t worry. I will take amazing care of them.” Talia reassured, “An you’ll still be able to see them whenever you want to.”

“It’s just not the same.” Stiles sighed, placing a bag on the kitchen table, “And I come bearing gifts.”

“What did you bring us this time.” Talia giggled, “Charles feels like we’re becoming indebted to you.”

“You’re family. I have to spoil you sometimes.” Stiles stated huskily, “I brought you tomatoes. You know that I hate tomatoes or anything remotely healthy. But it was pretty difficult to let these ones go. There’s this sweet little old next door to me that grows these amazing vegetables and her tomatoes are to die for.”

“That’s so sweet of you.” Talia said with graceful simplicity, “Will you stay for dinner? We really miss your company.”

“I wish I could.” Stiles moaned, “I miss you all too.”

“I insist that you stay.” Charles declared as he entered the room, “We’ll be eating soon. You know I wish my wife would let us boys take over the household duties occasionally.”

“That is never happening again.” Talia groaned, “I love you boys dearly, but you can’t cook.”

“That’s a lie. I can cook.” Peter stated, pressing a kiss against his sister’s cheek.

“Yes. You can cook eggs.” Talia snorted, earning a laugh from Stiles.

“That was awfully not lady-like Lia,” Stiles teased, “Charles. You should worry about me, I’m going to steal your wife away one of these days.”

“I’m sorry to inform you this, but my wife loves me more than you.” Charles grinned, “And a young man like you should look for someone your own age.”

“My idiot nephew doesn’t know what’s he’s missing.” Peter sighed, “You shouldn’t be waiting around for him.”

“What? I’m not waiting around for anyone.” Stiles stated in a serious tone, “As long as your nephew is happy, good for him.”

“I don’t understand what happened between the two of you.” Charles sighed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“Once you figure it, please do tell me.” Stiles laughed, “Anyway I don’t really think what we had counted as friendship. He just hated me a little less than he does now.”

“Have you met his girlfriend?” Peter asked, indicating to Stiles that he should join them on the table.

“Erica? I have seen her. She’s beautiful.” Stiles grinned, “But not as beautiful as you Talia.”

“Oh Stiles.” Talia giggled, “She is pretty. But I don’t think she’s right for Derek.”

“Mother’s intuition?” Stiles teased, “You’ll just have to wait and see how everything turns out.”

“Of course. Derek and Erica have been invited for dinner.” Peter laughed, earning an exaggerated gasp from Stiles.

“I can believe you guy’s would trick me like that.” Stiles joked, “But in all honesty, I don’t think this is a good idea. Derek hates me and I’m a womaniser, I could easily bewitch Erica.”

“You keep talking, yet I see no actions.” Peter grinned, he was always highly amused by Stiles’ antics.

“Damn it Peter! You can make a bet like that.” Stiles groaned, “You know that I can’t refuse something like that.”

“Maybe it can be a test.” Peter continued, “See if it’ll be easy to seduce Erica away from Derek.”

“I can’t do that to your nephew. I thought you knew me Peter.” Stiles laughed, holding his hands up in surrender, “What are we eating tonight anyway?”

“Chicken Alfredo as a main dish and strawberry cheesecake as a dessert.” Talia answered proudly. The woman made amazing food and Stiles would actually pick her food over any awkward situation. He could deal with Derek for a good hour if he was being rewarded with Talia’s amazing food.

“That’s all you had to say. I’m staying.” Stiles laughed, hugging Talia, “Seriously Charles. I’m going to steal your wife.”

“Oh dear. You do know how to make me blush.” Talia giggled, slapping the young adult’s shoulder slightly.

“So Stiles. Are you still good at chess?” Charles asked, “We’ll have to play a game one day.”

“Of course.” Stiles grinned, “I think I should ask the question that everyone is curious about. Peter. Are you in a relationship?”

“I am if you’re offering.” Peter laughed, “I should have you know that no one wanted to know whether I am in a relationship or not.”

“We were actually going to ask you…” Talia smiled, “So is there anyone?”

“If Stiles’s offering, there will be.” Peter snorted, folding his arms over his chest.

“Ask me again in a few days and I might agree.” Stiles responded, he didn’t necessarily have a problem with the idea of dating Peter. The only problem was that he was going to be dating his ‘best’ friend’s uncle. He didn’t think that Derek would be too happy with the idea of his uncle getting on with his friend.

“Deal.” Peter smirked, “I can handle a couple of days.”

“The doorbell’s ringing.” Talia stated, “Stiles will you be a dear and open it for me.”

“Anything for you Lia.” Stiles answered, going towards the door. The young adult knew that Derek and his girlfriend were going to be on the other side of it, but he couldn’t care less.

“Hello. I don’t believe we were introduced properly last time.” The blonde haired female smiled, giving the male a small wave. She was beautiful, if she wasn’t dating Derek, Stiles was sure he would have tried to whisk her away from her partner.

“Yes. I apologise for my rudeness.” Stiles apologised, “My name is Stiles Stilinski. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Erica Reyes, it wasn’t necessarily rude since we had just seen each other in passing.” Erica laughed, “So were you invited to the family dinner too?”

“Yeah, no matter how much they deny it. The Hale family love my company.” Stiles answered, it was easy to talk to her. She didn’t seem to be rude, he was now curious as to why the other Hale's weren’t as smitten with the female, “Oh I’m sorry, please make yourselves comfortable.”

The rest of the dinner appeared to go somewhat well, watching the interactions between the family was almost a revelation to Stiles. The Hale's appeared to be indifferent to Erica, every little joke or compliment she made appeared to be regarded only slightly. Stiles felt awkward, he had never seen the family treat anyone this way before and even he had to admit that it wasn’t entirely fair. They weren’t even giving her a chance.  
“Stiles. I’m going to be seeing you more often now that you’re going to be working under your father.” Charles smiled, “We should try to have lunch during work hours.”

“Geez. When you put it that way you make it sound like I’m going to be doing the dirty with my father.” Stiles laughed, “But it would be nice to have lunch with you.”

“Stiles. Are you dating anyone?” Talia asked, “I know a couple of ladies that would be happy to have you.”

“Lia, we both know that I would be no good for those ladies.” Stiles sighed, “And I’m not really dating anyone right now, but I am in an intimate relationship.”

“How does that work?” Erica asked curiously, peering beadily at the brunette male.

“He’s ditched the romance and is screwing someone.” Peter answered, grinning at the brunette.

“Don’t put it so crudely.” Stiles snorted, as he finished the pasta dish. Charles and Talia were so used to conversations turning suggestive that they didn’t even bat an eyelash whenever sex or anything of that sort was mentioned. Stiles on the other hand was glad that he was in the company of the three Hale's because he was sure that if he didn’t have Charles, Talia, and Peter, he would have surely combusted at the looks he was receiving from the youngest Hale.

“Did I say anything incorrectly?” Peter continued, “I think it’s time you took relationships more serious.”

“Tell me that in again in a couple of days.” Stiles grinned, hinting at the fact that Peter had agreed to ask him out on a date after a few days. Stiles glanced at the other side of the table to just get a glance of Derek, he could feel the male’s eyes burn into him, but he wanted to see the infamous Hale glare by sight. When Stiles’s eyes finally caught Derek’s, he inhaled harshly. The brunette had no idea what caused his friend to hate him so much. Stiles had to leave. Now.

“Of course.” Peter smiled, “Are you ready for dessert?”

“Oh. I just realised that it’s getting late.” Stiles answered sheepishly, “I’m afraid that I have an appointment with a friend I won’t be able to stay for dessert.”

“Do you want to take a piece with you?” Talia asked, “Are you sure you can’t stay for a few minutes longer?”

“I really wish I could.” Stiles breathed, “I’ll visit you as soon as I can Lia.”

“We’ll hold you to that Stiles.” Charles smiled, “We know where you live.”

“Thank you for this amazing meal.” Stiles laughed, “And it was nice to see you all again.”

“Do you want me to see you out?” Peter questioned, he had the strangest feeling in the back of his mind that something was bothering the brunette,

“No. You should all enjoy the rest of your meal. I’ll see myself out.” Stiles smiled, giving Peter a side hug, Charles a firm handshake, Talia a kiss on the cheek, and Erica a small wave. As soon as Stiles exited the establishment, he knees began to shake. It was strange to think that he was able to hold of his panic for this long. His friend hated him. The brunette male slid down against a tree as he frustratedly dialled a number on his phone.  
“Yo Jackie, can you pick me up?” He asked his friend as soon as he heard the call pick up.

“Where the hell are you?” Jackson asked.

“Outside the Hale estate.” Stiles sighed, “I don’t know how long I’m going to hold it.”

“I’ll get there as soon as I can.” Was the last thing that Stiles heard before the line cut. And when he thought that he was getting better with the panic attacks, they always seemed to reappear and bite him on the ass. This wasn’t good, his face was beginning to heat up, his vision blurred, and breathing appeared to be pretty darn difficult. Stiles was going to pass out. He had no doubt about it. Melissa was going to kill him.

“Stiles! Hold on we’ve almost got you.” Jackson yelled as he threw open the passenger seat to Isaac’s car.

“Shit man. He’s passed out.” Isaac cursed, “Do you need some help putting him in the back?”

“I think I can manage.” Jackson snorted, as he manoeuvred the brunette’s limp body to the vehicle.

“Is he alive?” Isaac asked, noticing that his friend looked awfully pale.

“He is alive, but I still think we should drop him off at Melissa’s.” Jackson stated, checking the brunette’s pulse, “I’m going to call Scott and we’re going to drop by Stiles’s to see whether he’s eating enough. He doesn’t usually faint unless he’s not eating well or he’s suffering from slight anaemia from not eating.”

“Are you going to tell John?” Isaac questioned, as he drove to Melissa’s place.

“I’ll tell them as soon as I can, but we should get them to worry.” Jackson answered softly.

When the trio reached Melissa’s house, the brunette woman was already hysteric. She was very protective of Stiles and the fact that something like this had happened more frequent than usual frightened her greatly. The male wasn’t taking care of himself properly. When Stiles started to regain consciousness he was waiting the inevitable blow from Melissa, she was the sort of woman that incorporated tough love.  
“Where going to conduct some tests tomorrow.” Melissa stated, folding her arms over her chest. The fact that she didn’t hit the male worried Stiles.

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked, sitting up. He regretted the motion as soon as he did it, the dizziness was overwhelming.

“Brat. You should be resting.” Melissa scolded, “And I should be asking you that question.”

“I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.” Stiles smiled, “So when will I be released?”

“I may release you tomorrow.” Melissa answered, “But you better not make me regret this Stiles. This is the fourth time you fainted within three weeks.”

“You won’t regret it.” Stiles promised, “I’m going to sleep now. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Melissa agreed, before turning to leave the room.

**The Next Day**

When Stiles woke up the next day there was this nagging feeling in the back of the mind that he had forgotten to do something. Jackson was sat on the chair next to Stiles’s bed, napping like usual. It had taken Stiles approximately a good thirty minutes to figure it out, he hadn’t called or text Peter, he had always contacted the guy to pass on the message that he had gotten home safely. The whole Hale family were full of worriers, they may have mastered the indifferent facial expressions, but internally it was a completely different story.  
“Yo Jackie. I need you to call Peter for me.” Stiles smiled sheepishly, the hospital refused to let phones be used within premises and Melissa still hadn’t given Stiles the okay to leave his room.

“Stop calling me Jackie, it’s annoying.” Jackson sighed, “I don’t have his number.”

“Then use my phone.” Stiles grinned, “And can you tell him that I wasn’t able to contact him because my phone died, but I was able to get home safely.”

“I’m not going to lie for you Stiles.” Jackson frowned, “I’m going to tell Peter what happened if he asks.”

“Are you trying to get me murdered?” Stiles moaned, “Melissa’s already angry with me. You should add my father to that list because he’s going to find out about it soon. If you tell Peter, he’ll be angry and he’ll tell his family and they’ll also be angry with me.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you neglected taking care of yourself.” Jackson scolded, “I went by your place with Scott. You had no food in your fridge. No food in the entire house.”

“I was going to go shopping.” Stiles complained, “I got distracted by a sudden dinner invitation.”

“I’m going to call Peter. You should expect him soon.” Jackson stated, leaving the room.

** Half an hour later **

“Take it all off.” Melissa stated as she entered the room.

“What.” Stiles frowned, “Take what off?”

“Your clothes. I need to weigh you.” Melissa hissed, pulling the male out of his bed.

“Fine. Okay.” Stiles groaned, shrugging off his shirt and pants. He never really had the chance to look at his body these days, he had been so busy that he just usually showered, threw on some clothes, and that was it. Looking at his body he could tell he was pretty bad, he had a feeling Melissa was going to murder him. When he stepped on the scale he winced slightly.

“You idiot. You’ve lost twenty lbs.” Melissa cursed, “You were perfectly healthy. 145 lbs is not healthy for your height Stiles.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.” Stiles winced, it was a lot worse than he was expecting. He had never been under 150 lbs, that probably meant that he had lost all his muscles.

“How many times have you been eating daily?” Melissa started, her notepad was out and she spent the majority of the time jotting down notes on his previous weight, his current weight and his measurements.

“I can’t remember. I’ve been distracted.” Stiles answered sheepishly, he had been eating the occasional snack to get energy boosts.

“Stiles. I won’t discharge you unless you can promise me that you will eat at least three times a day. Healthy and balanced meals.” Melissa groaned, she had the feeling that she was being too lenient on the young male.

“I promise.” Stiles stated in a serious tone, “I never break promises.”

“Okay.” Melissa agreed, “Peter, Derek. Stop hovering around and enter the room.”

“Sorry. We didn’t mean to intrude.” Peter apologised, “So what’s wrong with Stiles?”

“The brat is suffering from a slight case of anaemia, anxiety disorder, and he has lost over 20 lbs in a month.” Melissa answered, “The idiot has fainted four times within three weeks and I’m sure that there have been other times that he hasn’t bothered to mention.”

“Ouch, when you say it out loud it sounds a lot worse than it is.” Stiles hesitated, as he started putting his clothes back on. He really didn’t need anyone else knowing his health problems. The brunette was starting to feel on edge, he already had enough people scolding him and he didn’t need Peter to join in on the bandwagon. And the fact that this was all mentioned in front of Derek pissed him off, what right did the other male have to be told his weaknesses.

“Stiles you need to be careful.” Peter frowned, “You’re going to be working longer hours.”

“I know.” Stiles groaned, “If we’re done here. I’d like to go home and relax.”

“You don’t know.” Derek hissed, “You wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if you knew. This is the third time something like this has happened to you.”

“I’m not hearing this from you.” Stiles stated, “You have no right to talk to me like this. We haven’t talked in over seven years. You can’t jump in and out of my life whenever you feel like it.”

“Derek’s only worried about you.” Peter started, “He has every right to worry about you. The two of you are childhood friends.”

“We were never friends Peter.” Stiles frowned, it hurt to admit it, but it was true. He and Derek were not friends, they never were and they never would be. It really hurt like a bitch. The sad thing was that it had taken him almost two decades to figure it out.

“What are you talking about? You are friends.” Peter continued, “The two of you are being idiots. You both need to be adults and discuss your problems.”

“He’s right. We’re not friends.” Derek agreed, “We were forced into each others lives by our nosey parents. Just because they’re friends, doesn’t mean that we are automatically friends.”

“I appreciate the fact that the two of you took time off your day to visit me, but I think it’s time the two of you left.” Stiles breathed, “Melissa. I am forever indebted to you and I thank you for everything.”

“Stiles.” Melissa sighed, “I expect to see you next week with an update.”

“Definitely. I’ll be back on Saturday.” Stiles smiled, “I’ll see myself off now.”

“Let me drop you home.” Peter argued, taking the male by his elbow, “Derek. I’ll see you tomorrow at the presentation.”

“Yes.” Derek stated, as he walked with the other males to get to his own vehicle.

“Can you drop me off at my fathers? I need to discuss something with him.” Stiles asked, he knew he wasn’t getting out of having a ride with Peter. Something had been bothering the brunette for a while, he had lived in this city for all of his life, but it was starting to feel different. It didn’t feel like home anymore. He had travelled across the world, but he now thought it was time for him to settle in another city. A fresh start.

The ride to his father’s house was a long but silent trip. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but it was pretty strange for the brunette to be quiet for a long period of time. Peter would glance at the brunette every so often just to make sure that he hadn’t fallen asleep.  
“Thank you for the ride.” Stiles smiled, “I’ll get my father to drop me back home.”

“Don’t be foolish. I’ll take you home after you talk to your father.” Peter declared, putting the vehicle in park.

“Okay. I guess you should come with me inside.” Stiles decided, “I’m not sure how long this will take.”

“I can do that.” Peter smiled, following the brunette.

“Stiles!” Claire gushed, smacking his head as soon as she opened the door.

“Why the hell are you hitting me for?” Stiles hissed, rubbing his head.

“You visited Talia before you visited me, you ungrateful little brat.” Claire frowned, “You don’t love the woman who took care of you!”

“Geez. You know I love you.” Stiles frowned, “You whacked me in front of Peter.”

“Oh. I didn’t see you there Peter.” Claire laughed sheepishly, “Do come in.”

“Thank you Claire.” Peter grinned, “It has been a long time.”

“We have a lot to talk about.” Claire smiled, dragging the Hale by his arm into the living room. Stiles on the other hand went directly to his father’s office. He knocked on the door firmly twice before entering the room.

“Stiles. Are you okay?” John asked, as he motioned for Stiles to join him on the sofa,

“I’m great. I wanted to talk to you about something.” Stiles smiled, his father was a lot calmer than his nanny when it came to anything.

“Is this about the job?” John questioned, placing the book he was reading on the table.

“Kind of.” Stiles frowned, “I heard that you need to make an alliance with the company in New York. I was hoping that you would send me there.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? You’ll be living in New York for as long as it takes to build the alliance. That could take from many months to years.” John sighed, “This is a big obligation.”

“I know.” Stiles grinned, “I’m the best you’ve got. I mean you did teach me everything. Charles has also taught me a couple of secrets you don’t even know.”

“Fine.” John agreed, “But you’ll be the one to tell your nanny.”

“Are you kidding? Do you want me dead?” Stiles groaned, “She’s going to overreact.”

“Claire always overreacts.” John laughed, “You’re like her son.”

“Who overreacts?” Claire screamed, slamming the door to the office open. Stiles and John’s eyes widened considerably when they noticed the very notable wooden spoon in her hand. Someone was going to get beaten up.

“I think you should tell Claire the news.” John stated, trying to divert the attention away from himself. Stiles’s mouth gaped as he looked between his nanny and father. This ultimately lead to the decision that his father was evil, he was willing to put his own safety before his son. At least Peter was behind his Claire, that meant that there was a possibility that he wouldn’t be hurt as bad.

“Guess who’s going to New York.” Stiles laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

“What.” Claire frowned, her current anger receding as she looked between the two males.

“Stiles’s going to New York to handle the company alliance.” John added, watching Claire’s expression appear slightly dejected worried him.

“My Stiles is moving away from me?” Claire asked, her lips quivering slightly.

“I’ll be back. I promise.” Stiles frowned, getting off the sofa to comfort his nanny. She was like a mother to him, she took care of him and his father when his mother passed away. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t attached to the woman.

“I can watch over him.” Peter offered, “I usually go to New York every few months to see how our company over there is doing.”

“You better be careful.” Claire yelled, hugging Stiles tightly.

“He’s not leaving yet. We’ll have two weeks with him.” John assured her, “Stiles needs this.”

“Okay. I want you to call me whenever you can.” Claire frowned, kissing Stiles’ cheek.

“I do all the time.” Stiles laughed, “I really have to go now. Peter promised to take me out to dinner.”

“Those Hale's. They keep stealing you away from me.” Claire snorted, glaring at Peter. It wasn’t a serious glare, but Peter could help but wince slightly at the look. The woman used to babysit all the time when he was a child and he had to admit that he was more terrified of her than his own parents. He felt incredibly sorry for Stiles.

“Well, what can I say. Everyone loves me.” Stiles grinned mischievously, “I’ll visit you next week.”

“You better.” Claire sighed, giving Stiles one last hug before releasing him.

“Bye!” Stiles laughed as he and Peter exited the house. When the duo entered the car he knew that Peter was going to ask him a handful of questions.

“I wasn’t aware of the fact that you were planning on moving away.” Peter started, “This isn’t related to Derek, right?”

“Not everything is about him.” Stiles grumbled, “I haven’t been doing so well here. I think I need a break from this area for a while.”

“Are you sure that you’re going to be okay over there?” Peter asked, “You do know that you’re still going to have to talk to talk to Derek before you leave.”

“I’m definitely going to be okay. I have a friend from university living there. His family is nice and they all seem to like me.” Stiles smiled, “I know I’m going to have to talk to him. I’m just dreading it. I have no idea what I’m going to say.”

“I don’t know how to help, considering the fact that the two of you decided that you were never friends to begin with.” Peter sighed, he wasn’t entirely sure what was going on between the two men. The only thing he didn’t doubt was that there was either some sort of conflict or miscommunication and the two of them would have to fix that for themselves.

“I don’t think that I would have ever expected the infamous Peter to not know how to advise someone.” Stiles snorted, “I just think we should define whatever is between us. If we’re not friends, we should decide on whether we want to be acquaintances, friends, or ignore each other for good.”

“You always thought the two of you were friends, right?” Peter questioned, the way the brunette treated his nephew was similar to what one would treat their friends.

“Yeah. But that was a long time ago.” Stiles groaned, “Do you know how much it sucks when you find out that you’ve been involved in a one sided friendship for most of your life? Well it sucks.”

“Let me take you out to dinner.” Peter smiled, “It’ll clear your mind a bit.”

“Did you seriously think that I was just using that as an excuse to leave? Of course you’re buying me dinner.” Stiles laughed, “I have to start eating properly soon. But I was thinking I should eat what I want tonight.”

“Curly fries?” Peter asked curiously as he shifted the car to drive. The drive to Bob’s Burgers was filled with chatter and jokes. It appeared that the brunette had cheered up considerably. Stiles was smiling more and it was pretty obvious that the young adult had lifted a weight off his shoulders.

When they reached Bob’s, Stiles greeted the owner and his daughter with a friendliness that one would use to close friends and family. They spent most of the night talking, eating, and drinking beer. Peter found it strange that the brunette wasn’t eating as much as he usually did, he only ate some fries and only had a glass of beer. Looking around the establishment, Peter noticed a very familiar looking blonde haired female. Erica Reyes was in the same place, but without Derek. When she noticed the duo, she waved and approached them.  
“Hey Stiles, can I talk to you?” Erica asked curiously, looking between the two males.

“I’ll wait for you in the car.” Peter sighed, it was clear that the brunette was going to take Erica on her offer, because even if Stiles wasn’t considered to be Derek’s friend, he still cared about him considerably.

“Okay. It’ll only take a few minutes.” Stiles smiled, leading Erica outside. The young woman appeared to be blushing, Stiles wasn’t sure if it was due to the cold or her drinking alcohol. The blonde haired woman seemed to be having an internal battle as her eyebrows would twitch or her face would slightly scrunch up. Erica smiled before she manoeuvred onto her tiptoes and placed a kiss against Stiles’s lips. The brunette was in complete shock, it took a minute for him to understand what was happening. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back onto her feet.

“Stile-“ Erica started before getting cut off completely by the brunette male.

“Look, I know that you’re drunk.” Stiles stated, “That’s all you have to say to Derek.”

“Liste-“ Erica continued trying to get her point across, but the male just wasn’t allowing her to finish her statements.

“Erica. You’re a pretty girl, but I am not that kind of guy.” Stiles groaned, “Do you need me to take you home?”

“No. I came here with my friends.” Erica sighed, “But-“

“That’s great. I’ll see you around. I really should keep Peter waiting.” Stiles smiled, “Goodnight Erica.”

“Night.” Erica frowned, waving at the male as he left. Stiles wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with this. It was a shock that something like this would happen straight after he was sure he managed to uncomplicated things. He was supposed to leave this village behind him and start afresh in New York, but now he was certain that running away wasn’t going to make his life any easier. When Stiles joined Peter in the car, he could tell that Peter had seen what happened. The man was all knowing when it came to situations like this.

“I know that you saw what happened and I’d prefer it if we didn’t talk about it.” Stiles moaned, fastening his seatbelt.

“I wasn’t going to.” Peter laughed, shifting the car to drive. The drive was mostly silent, when they finally reached Stiles’s house, the brunette looked at the other male for a few good minutes before deciding to speak up.

“Why’s my life so complicated? I mean when I try to simplify things, they just become complex again.” Stiles groaned, “What am I doing wrong? Is everything going to fuck up in New York as well?”

“Have you never heard that phrase? Life’s a bitch, so if it’s easy you’re doing it wrong.” Peter snorted, “Things are complicated for everyone Stiles. No one gets it easy. People just know how to conceal better than others. We’re all going through our own personal battles.”

“This is why I like talking to you.” Stiles laughed, “You know how to make me feel better. I’ll see you some time next week?”

“Of course. You’re going to be leaving in two weeks.” Peter stated, he didn’t like the idea of Stiles moving away by himself. He had always thought that the brunette would travel with a companion, Stiles was a sociable creature.

“Night.” Stiles smiled, saluting the male. When Stiles finally entered his house, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. He knew that he had to fix this thing with Derek before he left, but he wasn’t sure if he should do it right now. Considering the fact that Derek’s girlfriend had just kissed him. Well the brunette decided that he could deal with Derek’s anger, the sooner he dealt with this, the better. Taking his phone out he sent a message to Derek, his only hope was that the male had the same number.

[](http://s153.photobucket.com/user/pluff39/media/download1_zps014aeade.png.html)

Stiles glared at his phone, he was hoping that Derek would elaborate on where and when they would have this talk. From experience he knew it would best to not push the other male, Derek had the tendency to disregard things when people pushed them. Sighing in contempt. Stiles decided to do his regular nightly routine. The brunette adult groaned at the sound of his doorbell ringing. It was far too late for friendly visits. He knew that the only person to have the balls to do something as stupid as this was Derek. When Stiles opened the door, he only opened far enough to see who was on the other side. And as usual, Stiles was right. Derek Hale stood in all of his jackass glory outside his house.  
“You changed your key.” Derek stated, shoving past Stiles to enter the house.

“Hello to you too.” Stiles sighed, closing the door. The dark haired male removed his coat and hung it next to Stiles’s own, the brunette didn’t think that the other male would make himself comfortable. It was obvious that this was going to be a long conversation.

“You’re a lot cleaner than you used to be.” Derek declared, looking around the house. The house was pretty large for a single person, Derek personally thought it would have been better for Stiles to live in an apartment. The young adult was surprisingly a lot cleaner than he remembered, there were no stray clothes or dirty dishes to be seen.

“The joys of adulthood.” Stiles agreed, he was quite proud of himself for living a cleaner lifestyle. His house always felt homely. The brunette continued to stare at Derek curiously as the dark haired male made himself comfortable on his couch, he was expecting for the adult to charge into his house and throw a couple of punches. It seemed that Derek did change in the seven years they didn’t talk.

“What did you want to talk about?” Derek asked, looking at the brunette expectantly. Stiles sighed to himself lightly before taking a seat beside Derek on the couch.

“I wish I knew. I just know that we need to talk.” Stiles replied, “We need to label what we are, considering the fact that we’re not friends.”

“We’re definitely not friends.” Derek agreed, grinning slightly. The whole situation was scaring Stiles slightly, the young adult was wondering when Derek would snap and beat the living shit out of him.

“What do you want to be?” Stiles questioned, “Do you want to be acquaintances? Or do you want to go back to be strangers?”

What happened next definitely shocked Stiles. One minute they were having a serious discussion the next Derek’s lips were against his own. They spent a good few minutes languidly kissing before Stiles snapped back into his senses. Why was everyone kissing him today?  
“Before you start freaking out. I need you to know that Erica is my friend. Not my girlfriend.” Derek noted, as Stiles stared at him with wide eyes.

“Why did you tell your family that she was your girlfriend then?” Stiles frowned, “Dude. I thought you hated me.”

“Like every other adult who asks their friend to pose as a romantic partner, I wanted my parents to get off my back.” Derek sighed, “Have I ever said that I hated you?”

“Well your uncle saw your fake girlfriend kiss me. He’s going to tell your parents and you're going to have more problems. You know, I wasn’t expecting you of all people to do something this stupid.” Stiles snorted, “And you didn’t have to say you hated me. I have eyes you know. Every dirty look I get from you I see.”

“It was Erica’s idea.” Derek scowled, “I only look at you like that when you do stupid stuff. Do you think I was happy with the idea of seeing you for the first time in seven years looking like a malnourished kid? You need to take care of yourself better.”

“But you said that we weren’t friends.” Stiles argued, this was pissing him off considerably. Looking at the other male proved that he wasn’t lying, but that meant something that frightened the brunette a lot.

“I’m not your friend. I want to be your partner.” Derek stated, “I can’t be your friend.”

“Oh.” Stiles voiced, he wasn’t sure what to do with that information. The brunette was always attracted to the other male, but he never thought there would be a day that his feelings would be reciprocated. There were two ways he could handle the situation. Agree to dating the male or rejecting him. Stiles wasn’t really agreeing with the latter and he thought it would actually be interesting for the two of them to explore this side of a relationship.

“I didn’t break your brain did I? I always knew you were an idiot, but I didn’t it was this bad.” Derek teased, snapping the brunette out of his reverie.

“I was actually considering dating you, but I think I’ve changed my mind now. You’re an ass.” Stiles groaned, “Oh shit. What do I do about Erica? She kissed me too.”

“She told me. Erica complimented your kissing talents.” Derek snorted, “Don’t worry too much about her. She wants to apologise to you in person.”

“That makes me feel a bit better.” Stiles laughed sheepishly, “Where do we go from here.”

“We’ll take it as it goes.” Derek smiled, pressing a kiss against Stiles’ lips.

“Shit. Could you have picked a worse time to admit that you like me?” Stiles moaned, “I’m going to be working in New York for a while.”

“Perfect. I can help my sister with her firm over there.” Derek grinned, holding the other male’s hands.

“You’re coming with me to New York?” Stiles gasped, “Aren’t we moving a little too fast?”

“We’re making up for seven years.” Derek explained, “It’s taken us seven years to fix this.”

“You better not make me regret this.” Stiles snorted, it was strange to admit that he was now officially in a relationship.

“You won’t.” Derek promised, pressing another kiss against Stiles’ lips.

**FIN**


End file.
